I try to use natural charcoal pretty much exclusively but sometimes quick light charcoal is a great product to have around for times when you can’t easily light natural charcoal. There are lots of problems with the average QL coals that keep me off them and that many people can’t stand including a nasty smell when lighting, nasty taste and (most importantly to me) they crumble when you try to move them. These are different.
I have smoked with Belgian natural tablets in the past and they are good coals. These are still in line with the quality of the natural tablets.
I am going to address the major problems with QL in regards to the Belgian Charcoal 33mm Tablets.
- Smell: These do smell. They are far from the worst I have dealt with but any QL charcoal is going to smell a bit. On the scale of nasty smelling QL coals these are pretty good.
- Taste: I’ve experienced a little bit of an off flavor while smoking with these coals but nothing that ruined a session. This was very rare and most people didn’t even notice it.
- Composition: This is the most important factor. The Belgian tablets are solid. They burn for a good long while, burn hot and do not break easily when you pick them up with your tongs. Toward the end they can get a bit fragile but other than that I don’t have to worry about them exploding and sending sparks all over the place like I do when using other, more popular brands of QL.
All in all I going to give these a 7 out of 10. I wish they didn’t smell and I wish they did not add a little bit of that QL taste but these are both to be expected with QL charcoal and it is not to offensive levels. The fact that these are solid tablets that don’t shatter easily, that makes them one of the best QL tablets on the market in my opinion.
If I can, I always prefer to use natural charcoal. If I am outside, without a fire, without a camp grill or anything else to easily light natural charcoal then Belgian Charcoal 33mm Tablets are my QL charcoal of choice.